What is Provera?
Provera is a synthetic version of progesterone, so it's a fake version of progesterone.
In a normal natural cycle, when we ovulate, we produce progesterone in our luteal phase, the second half of the cycle.
The Provera 'challenge' tries to mimic that aspect of the cycle by basically giving us that fake progesterone in the hope that it will induce a bleed.
So what if I don't bleed?
The bleed that may come is not actually a real period because you haven't ovulated, but it gives you some kind of indication into whereabouts you are with your period recovery journey.
If we don't bleed at all, once we've taken the progesterone challenge and we've
completed that course, that means that there's not enough estrogen to build up the uterus lining, which basically means it's a more 'severe' version of HA. But do not worry! You can still totally get your period back!
When I completed this 'challenge', I did not bleed and still went on to get my period back naturally.
If you didn't bleed from this Provera 'challenge', they may give you synthetic estrogen and progesterone as another test to rule out any abnormalities, like any blockages.
Bleed after synthetic estrogen and progesterone..
If you get a bleed after you've taken the synthetic estrogen and
progesterone, that indicates that your missing period is due to the low estrogen aspect, which is very common with women with HA.
Will any of this jump start your period?
Unfortunately, the answer is no.
These are just little tests that you can see to indicate the severity of HA, and they are just giving you these synthetic hormones so they're not going to jump start your period or make trigger ovulation.
They can be useful in ruling out any kind of abnormalities and seeing how far along the HA journey you might have to go, but otherwise they are just simply tests.